Lengthening the Lunette..how long???

[inkpot]

I think what Kowboy is trying to say is that by making the lunete longer, it creates a larger moment or (force). The lunete is fixed at the hitch, and the load is the tounge weight. The welds that you did by making the lunete longer will just provide a point of failure if the load is to great. If they were done properly and the load does not get too excessive, which may not ever happen, because of the thick sleeving you did, it will be fine. I want to lengthen my M-416 as well, but i would haver lengthened the frame of the trailer instead.

I think what Kowboy is referring to is the vertical and lateral stress on the little itsy bitsy V-shaped base that it goes into. Now the leverage of the Lunnete is 2 or 3 times greater on it. Looks like the weak link to me. John

 

[KOWBOY]

I think what Kowboy is referring to is the vertical and lateral stress on the little itsy bitsy V-shaped base that it goes into. Now the leverage of the Lunnete is 2 or 3 times greater on it.

BINGO!!

It's one of them force times distance thangs.

Ain't nothin' wrong with lenghtenin' the shaft ... as long as the base is beefed up to accomodate the extra forces.

Carry on.

 

[airlaird]

OK, well it's still a work in progress...maybe I'll add more later support to the lunette. Thankyou guys for the insight!
airlaird

 

[inkpot]

OK, well it's still a work in progress...maybe I'll add more later support to the lunette. Thankyou guys for the insight!
airlaird

Howdy! I did my setup just the opposite. Way overkill. I am building a trailer based on an 87 minitruck frame. The bed and the frame were free. I notched the frame just ahead of the crossmember and folded it in. Then I welded in a piece of 3" pipe from the crossmember thru the frame arms. Next i slid in a piece of 2.5" pipe with a plug welded in the end. My lunette ring bolts thru the plug and has an adjustable preload on it to allow it to swivel if the trailer rolls over. Also, the smaller tube can slide in and out of the larger one so it can be pinned in any of several lengths. The shortest position will work on my Piggy with a regular pintle on a 2" slide in receiver. I can pull it out if I need more length for manuvering, or if it is pulled behind a truck with a flatbed that extends out over the hitch. Oh, the pipes are both 1/4" thick wall, and free, so the price is right, and it will handle any extra tongue weight I might add later, like a spare on the front of the trailer bed, or storage, or whatever. John